


hover

by redreki (kirishine)



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Jealous Kyan Reki, Jealousy, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, REFERENCES TO EPISODE THREE, Reki Kyan is Bad at Feelings, especially in chapter two, he gets advice from a 13 year old lmao rip, we’re kicking off this tag babyyyy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:49:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28869585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirishine/pseuds/redreki
Summary: Jealousy wasn’t an emotion Reki had much familiarity with. Even with skating, where others were discouraged by their lack of ability when seeing someone exceptional, Reki was only inspired to work that much harder.So why recently, had he started feeling salt covering his emotions in a way that was foreign?
Relationships: Hasegawa Langa/Kyan Reki
Comments: 12
Kudos: 183





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I DEADASS HAD THIS HALF WRITTEN IN DRAFTS BEFORE EPISODE THREE CAME OUT AND THE JEALOUSY OF CHINEN’S FRIENDS IN HIS ‘LIL BACKSTORY. BRO I AM ACTUALLY SCREAMING THE SHOW SAID ‘yeah she’s right reki isn’t toxically jealous and let’s explicitly show that’.
> 
> Okay back to the note I wrote when originally drafting this.
> 
> —
> 
> This thought came about as I was thinking about how cool it is that Reki isn’t toxically jealous towards Langa’s skating and is genuinely happy for him and seeing his quick progress. 
> 
> It was fun to think of a situation that /would/ make Reki jealous. Not toxically so, but you’ll seeeeee

Jealousy wasn’t an emotion Reki had much familiarity with. Even with skating, where others were discouraged by their lack of ability when seeing someone exceptional, Reki was only inspired to work that much harder.

He was less of an ‘I wish I could do that’ thinker and more of an ‘I can’t wait until I can do that’ one. Whether that was because of his optimistic nature or not, he was motivated all the more, for purely his own satisfaction.

When Langa nailed an ollie after two weeks, even though it took Reki himself close to two months (which was considered quick anyway considering the average being around three months) he was so excited for his friend, didn’t once even think about how skilled he was in a way that was typically ‘jealous’.

Maybe he was just confident enough in his own skating ability. Maybe he really was just incapable of understanding the complexity and different forms of the emotion. He _could’ve_ been feeling it for all he knew but it was so minuscule that it didn’t consciously process or manifested differently in him.

It’s not something he thought about at all. There was a single ‘actually, I don’t think I’ve _ever_ been jealous’ when someone brought up how he is with Langa’s progress and that was that.

So… why? Why, shortly after that conversation, after the slightest thought of the emotion, did he find himself feeling it? Or at least, something that he imagined as jealousy. He barely admitted that to himself, though.

People in the community started noticing Langa and his abilities. There had been people turning up at the skate park to discreetly watch him practice when their intention was obvious. Some asked how he did everything, what his secret was. Others just complimented him.

Funnily enough, the last is what Reki apparently _really_ did not like. But he couldn’t discern _why._

It made something bitter begin brewing in his gut, settling and coating his emotions in a layer of salt. Which made absolutely no sense at all!

He _knew_ Langa was amazing! Hell, he’d been telling him that whenever deserved since the second he got off S for the first time. And he deserved it very often. What can he say, he’s an honest man and paid compliments when seeing fit.

Other people being like that and just letting Langa know how awesome he was at skating should absolutely not have had Reki’s blood on simmer.

The more they smiled, the deeper the knife felt twisted in his stomach. The more they said, the more Reki’s lips twitched in his fake taut smile. The closer they got, the harder his fists clenched.

Honestly, it had started actively pissing him off, and as Langa kept competing and practicing, it only happened much more often. The skate park was rarely empty anymore, they didn’t have any time alone there, and they definitely lost time practicing between anyone who wanted to talk to Langa.

Reki’s presence there with him wasn’t even a deterrent. He was known in the community as a bright, friendly guy who would talk to anyone. _Especially_ someone interested in skating. The people wanting to talk to Langa saw Reki with him and didn’t think for a second that he would be bothered. And since Langa was always with Reki, they assumed the same for him.

There was something abnormally draining about it. Of course he bottled it up and never said anything to Langa, because how on earth would he explain that? ‘Hey man, every time someone fauns over you in front of me it makes me brood like an absolute loser when I get home and I don’t know why or what it means and it’s kinda ruining my vibe’? _Absolutely_ not. He could practically see the wide-eyed and confused expression Langa would give in response to that.

It didn’t matter how much thought and time Reki was putting behind figuring this out. It just didn’t get easier.

Trying to find specifics of why he felt that way didn’t work. Was he jealous of Langa because of the praise he was receiving? No. Reki knew he deserved it and it really didn’t bother him a bit in concept. If anything, that made him smile.

Was he jealous of Langa because he was getting a lot of attention from cute girls? Nah. He was never too bothered about girls himself and Langa didn’t seem to be either. It’s not something they’d ever talked about, really. These feelings of Reki’s came about regardless of how ‘attractive’ he found whoever was saying it.

“You wanna place those boxes any more agro?” Miya taunted.

He was sat on the counter of the employee room of Dope Sketch, as Oka had no problem with him being there as long as Reki or Langa were, most of his attention focused on whatever game he was playing on his phone. He caught Reki’s frustration by the sounds of his actions alone.

“I’m not in the mood, Miya,” Reki groaned, sighing heavily after shaking his head, hoping it would clear it. “I don’t know what’s _wrong_ with me lately.”

 _That_ truly got Miya’s attention. In the short time he had known Reki, he knew that normally he wouldn’t ever say something like that. He’d say ‘I’m fine’ no matter what he was thinking.

He paused his game and squinted suspiciously at the other, who was biting the inside of his cheek in a ponder, staring into nothing.

“It’s about Langa, isn’t it?”

At the mention of Langa by name, Reki snapped out of it and jumped as if he'd been stung. His chest puffed out as he dramatically pointed an accusatory finger towards Miya.

“Eh?! How’d you know?!”

“ _Please_ , it _always_ is when it comes to you two.” With a scoff and roll of his eyes, Miya commented. A second of silence dragged until he realised Reki wasn't going to continue on his own. “You gonna talk or can I finish this level?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m gonna start trying to respond to comments. I appreciate them a lot and they really motivate me, but I get scared that I can’t show my gratitude to it’s full extent sometimes. Ironically, despite writing a lot, I’m not the greatest with words myself. 
> 
> Regardless, thank you for reading!! Gonna get some Reki Realisation™️ and Miya advice next chapter. Maybe even an honest talk with the man himself 👀


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miya and Reki already have such a big/little brother vibe to me 🥺🥺. I love them.

Reki’s stance fell to a relaxed state and he was silent, debating whether or not to take up what seemed to be an offer to vent.

He decided _screw it,_ not actually expecting a worthwhile conversation that would make him think beyond ranting his frustrations. Though it had come to this, and Miya of all people, which really made it obvious just how frustrated he was in the first place.

“It’s how I said, I don’t really _know._ ” With little enthusiasm he jumped to the counter too and sat opposite Miya, tapping the sides for a few short seconds afterwards to gather the right words. “For the past few weeks I’ve just been reacting strangely to stuff. Since strangers have started to come out of nowhere to compliment Langa more often. It makes me feel weird, and… not the normal Langa nice weird.”

Miya almost laughed but contained himself for Reki’s sake. Really? That’s _it_?

“That’s a weirdly specific event to link it to.”

“Right?!”

“But reacting strangely _how_? Do you make it awkward, or something?”

Did he? That wasn’t something he had put thought to at all either. He’d never sensed any kind of tension and generally believed he was pretty good at suppressing it. From the perspective of the barely acquaintances, Reki believed he probably looked tense at _worst._

“No, that’s not it, not inherently. It’s just… when I see Langa’s face and hear his voice responding to them, I get annoyed. _Super_ annoyed. All he does is thank them or brush the words off depending, but my teeth clench on instinct. He seems happy when it happens most of the time and I should be happy _for_ him but I’m _not_.” At saying those words aloud, his face twisted into one of sadness. This was the first time he’d actually heard himself properly, and to him, it sounded crazy. A new and sudden thought hit him at that, one that made his head and posture drop. “I’m a bad friend.”

Squinting, Miya took a second to analyse. Reki had the edges of the counter held tight in his hands that were turning white, and his expression was now one of frustration with himself more than anything.

It was easy to tell that he just wanted this to stop for Langa’s sake. He felt like his feelings were unjustified, unfair, and that Langa didn’t deserve a friend so crappy to feel this way about him receiving well earned positive attention.

“You’re not a bad friend, Reki. You’re jealous and insecure, though.”

The word ‘jealous’ seemed to physically hurt him. His next words were eager, as if he was getting fired up about absolutely proving he wasn’t jealous.

“No, you see, I thought that at first, but I’m really not insecure about my skating at all. I’ve got stuff to work on but everyone does. It doesn’t make sense that I’d actually be _jealous_ of Langa.”

Denial. Nothing new to Reki, but something easy to spot. He genuinely thought he _was_ jealous of Langa deep down, but that’s really not what Miya got from what he’d said.

“That’s because Langa isn’t the one you’re jealous of and your skating isn’t the thing you’re insecure about.”

With that simple sentence, Reki was stumped.

All of his pondering until now, all of his brooding and sulking and hours upon hours of kicking rocks and staring into space, suddenly came to nothing. Immediately, it didn’t make sense, and the proposal of something so broad only confused him further.

Did he get something across wrong? Was Miya not understanding him?

“How would that add up? It definitely has to do with Langa.”

“Reki,” Miya turned his body, position now mirroring Reki’s as his feet, much too shy of the floor, minutely kicked. “do you think you make Langa happy?”

Reki’s shoulders went tense.

“What kinda question is that? Of course I do-”

“Liar.” At the interruption, Reki was stunned into silence. Miya had a new sense of seriousness in his expression. “You said that it’s Langa’s face and reactions that annoy you. Not the attention he gets or how good his skating is. Are you getting it? You’re jealous of the people flustering Langa, not the guy himself! _You_ want to be the one to make him react like that so when others manage you get jealous of ‘em. You’re insecure because you don’t see to the extent that you do it already. Jealousy isn’t always a bad thing if it’s small or you get to the root of it and suss it out. This nag isn’t gonna stop until you face it or it blows up and hurts the both of you.”

All Reki could do was look down and think. He _knew_ he made Langa happy, _knew_ he made him smile and laugh and feel generally good, but Miya _wasn’t wrong._ It wasn’t anything like ‘I should be the _only_ one making him happy’, more so that he began to doubt that he did at all in the first place when other’s seemed to achieve something similar so easily. It was borderline frustrating that Miya had somehow figured it out so easily.

That still begged a different question, though. Sure, Reki had figured out at least a little of what his explicit problem was, but explaining that to Langa still wouldn’t come easy. ‘Hey man, every time I see you happy at someone complimenting you it makes me brood like an absolute loser when I get home and I’ve figured out it’s because I want to make you happy in some kind of different or special way that they don’t get to see or experience with you and it’s kinda ruining my vibe’?

Nope. It still sounded insane.

Not putting up any argument to Miya’s opinion, Reki just groaned. “I can’t just _tell_ him, though.”

“Sure you can. I thought communication and understanding are the only things slimes are good at.” At that, a teasing smile returned to Miya’s face as he picked up his phone again. “It’s only Langa. What are you scared of?”

_It’s only Langa. What are you scared of?_

“Thanks, Miya. Quite sad I had to get advice from a thirteen year old about this, though.”

“ _You_ said it, buddy.”

At the sound of the bell signalling the door to the shop had been opened, Reki jumped down from the counter, shaking his head and putting on a smile to face whatever customer came in. Before he made it out of the door though, the person spoke.

“Good morning!” It was Langa.

Miya couldn’t help but laugh at the obvious way Reki panicked for a second, as if he had to pour his heart that very second. It earned a glare from Reki, before he exited the room to greet his friend and colleague as normally as possible.

 _After work,_ he thought. He’d do it after work today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter number has changed from two to three!! I absolutely did not expect this one conversation to go on for so long but I guess I got carried away (again). I hope it’s not boring!! I’m not the best at writing big dialogue heavy scenes.


End file.
